Disk transport mechanism for a disk drive
A disk drive includes a spacer unit mounted at one end of a roller-mounting frame for spacing a disk transport roller apart from a plate member. The spacer unit has a predetermined length greater than the greatest outer diameter of the transport roller.
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The invention relates to a disk transport mechanism for a disk drive of slot-in type, more particularly to the disk transport mechanism having a spacer unit for spacing a disk transport roller apart from a plate member, thereby preventing untimely wearing of the transport roller.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAn optical disk drive of slot-in type is generally installed in a notebook computer or in an audio-and-video instrument of an automobile for reproducing the information recorded in an optical recording media, such as playing songs from a CD.
Referring to
Some disadvantages resulting from the use of the aforesaid conventional disk drive are as follows:
-
- (a) The transport roller 602 is susceptible to wear due to constant contact with the plate member 8 when they are not spaced apart by a disk;
- (b) The driving and driven gears 1402, 604 cooperatively define a first distance L1 between the axes thereof when the transport roller 602 contacts the plate member 8;
- (c) During the disk ejecting and drawing in operation, the driving and driven gears 1402, 604 cooperatively define a second distance L2. It is note that L2>L1 due to presence of the disk between the transport roller 602 and the plate member 8. In other words, it can be assumed that the driving and driven gears 1402, 604 are not fully meshed with each other during the disk ejecting or drawing in operation. Under such condition, the transport roller 604 may wobble with respect to the disk 4.
The object of the present invention is to provide an optical disk drive of slot-in type that is provided with a spacer unit which can eliminate the aforesaid disadvantages.
A disk transport mechanism is provided according to the present invention for use a disk drive which includes a casing formed with an entrance-and-exit slot. The disk transport mechanism includes: a plate member adapted to be disposed stationarily within the casing, and extending inwardly from the entrance-and-exit slot; a disk transport roller; a frame-mounting shaft; a roller-mounting frame adapted to be pivoted to the casing via the frame-mounting shaft so as to dispose the roller-mounting frame below the plate member, the roller-mounting frame having two inner roller-mounting ends that are distal from the entrance-and-exit slot and that holds the transport roller thereon such that the transport roller extends in a direction parallel with the frame-mounting shaft, and at least a spacer unit extending outwardly from one of the roller-mounting ends. The spacer unit has a predetermined length measured in a radial direction of the roller-mounting end such that when the transport roller is moved to an upper position by virtue of upward swinging of the roller-mounting frame, the spacer unit abuts against the plate member to form a gap between the transport roller and the plate member. A driving motor is provided for rotating the transport roller.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSOther features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
As illustrated, the preferred embodiment includes a casing formed with an entrance-and-exit slot (see
Each of the spacer units 3602 has a predetermined length measured in a radial direction of the transport roller 32 such that the spacer units 3602 abuts against the plate member 8 by virtue of upwardly-biased action of a spring (not shown) so as to form a gap between the transport roller 32 and the plate member 8 (see
The gear transmission system includes a driven gear 34 fixed to one end of the transport roller 32 and a driving gear 1402 meshed with the driven gear 34. The driving gear 1402 is operably associated with the driving motor in such a manner that actuation of the driving motor results in rotation of the transport roller 32 so as to draw an optical disk 4 into the casing or eject the disk 4 from the casing. The roller-mounting frame 36 is also movable to a lower position against the urging action of the spring, in which the transport roller 32 is spaced apart from the optical disk 4, thereby disposing the latter under a readable condition (see
Referring again to
In contrast to the conventional disk drive, the position of the driving gear 1402 in the disk drive of the present invention is adjusted so as to define a first length between axes thereof when the disk drive of the present invention is not loaded with an optical disk (see
Note that adjusting the length of the spacer units 3602 and altering the position of the driving gear 1402 with respect to the plate member 8 in order to dispose the driving gear 1402 fully mesh with the driven gear 34 can be done by conventional known art and do not required complicated process.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Claims
1. A disk transport mechanism for a disk drive which includes a casing formed with an entrance-and-exit slot, the disk transport mechanism comprising:
- a plate member adapted to be disposed stationarily within the casing, and extending inwardly from the entrance-and-exit slot;
- a transport roller;
- a frame-mounting shaft;
- a roller-mounting frame adapted to be pivoted to the casing via said frame-mounting shaft so as to dispose said roller-mounting frame below said plate member, said roller-mounting frame having two inner roller-mounting ends that are distal from the entrance-and-exit slot and that holds said transport roller thereon such that said transport roller extends in a direction parallel with said frame-mounting shaft;
- at least a spacer unit extending outwardly from one of said roller-mounting ends such that when said transport roller is moved to an upper position by virtue of upward swinging of said roller-mounting frame, said spacer unit abuts against said plate member to form a gap between said transport roller and said plate member; and
- a driving motor for rotating said transport roller.
2. The disk transport mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a roller-protective sheath sleeved on said transport roller.
3. The disk transport mechanism according to claim 2, wherein said roller-protective sheath is made from elastomeric materials.
4. The disk transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the spacer unit has a predetermined length measured in a radial direction of said roller-mounting shaft, said transport roller having an outer greatest diameter, said predetermined length of said spacer unit being greater than half of said outer greatest diameter of said transport roller.
5. The disk transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said spacer unit has a U-shaped configuration with two straight portions and a curved portion interconnecting said two straight portions.
6. The disk transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said transport roller is made from rubber material.
7. The disk transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said driving motor includes a gear transmission system having a driven gear fixed to one end of said roller-mounting shaft and a driving gear for driving said driven gear.
8. The disk transport mechanism according to claim 7, wherein when said transport roller is moved to said upper position for biasing said spacer unit against said plate member, said driving gear being meshed with said driven gear of said transport roller.
9. The disk transport mechanism according to claim 7, wherein when said transport roller withdraws an optical disk into or ejecting the disk, said driving gear being meshed with said driven gear of said transport roller, thereby defining a second distance between axes of said driven and driving gears, said second distance being shorter than a first distance between axes of said driven and driving gears when said transport roller is moved to said upper position for biasing said spacer unit against said plate member.
10. The disk transport mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a support pad unit mounted on said plate member for supporting said spacer unit when said transport roller is moved to said upper position.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 18, 2005
Publication Date: Mar 16, 2006
Patent Grant number: 7281256
Applicant:
Inventor: Hui-Chu Huang (Hsinchu City)
Application Number: 11/082,819
International Classification: G11B 17/04 (20060101);